Published: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 9:43 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 5:03 p.m.

SARASOTA - The city had just hired a new manager and residents already were yelling at him. They wanted Tom Barwin to do something, and fast, to deal with the very visible homeless population.

So he did.

And it ended up costing Sarasota more than $15,000 in legal fees and the loss of a $100,000 donation — which, instead, will likely go to private social service providers.

When Barwin created the Homeless Advisory Task Force, later renamed a “fact-finding” group, it was with good intentions. In January and February, the group that included public officials and service providers met and discussed what was missing from Sarasota's approach to homelessness.

But none of the meetings were publicly noticed, no minutes were kept and Barwin landed himself, and the city, in Government-in-the-Sunshine Law purgatory.

An injunction and lawsuit that the open government advocacy group Citizens for Sunshine filed in February was supposed to bar Sarasota from acting on the group's recommendation: that the city and county hire one full-time and two part-time caseworkers to help the chronically homeless.

Barwin nonetheless put a request on the City Commission agenda in March asking the city to accept an anonymous donor's $100,000 gift to help fund the caseworkers, and to chip in another $20,000 to help cover the positions and supplies.

The advocacy group asked a judge to hold him in contempt of court.

Barwin pulled the item from the agenda and the group decided their contempt of court motion was moot — but the misstep still cost the city nearly $7,000 in additional legal fees.

A bill that Citizens for Sunshine's attorney, Andrea Mogensen, sent to the city last week showed Sarasota owed her firm $15,274 for the debacle.

The legal battle wrapped up Tuesday, when Citizens for Sunshine voluntarily dismissed the case.

The next day, Barwin heard the city was not getting the $100,000.

“The risk associated with open government litigation spawned by the well-meaning efforts of city officials to expeditiously tackle the problem of homelessness, suggests that these initiatives can most effectively be led by a coalition of non-governmental social service providers,” the donor said in a statement released by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, which is handling the donation.

John Annis, who is working with the donor and is the foundation's vice president of community investment, said the individual is still committed to giving the money to address homelessness.

The donor encouraged the foundation to bring agencies that work with the homeless and affected members of the community together to determine how to proceed. The foundation will be able to do that, Annis said.

“Obviously disappointment is an understatement in terms of losing the funding, or the potential funding,” Barwin said. “And on the other hand, I understand the frustration and I probably am even more frustrated than the donor.”

Barwin still plans to ask city officials on April 15 to sign off on a scaled-back version of his initial caseworker plan, but suggested a part-time staffer will replace the full-time specialist he hoped to hire to help the city's chronically homeless.

“We will be sticking our toe in the water instead of our whole foot,” Barwin said.

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - The city had just hired a new manager and residents already were yelling at him. They wanted Tom Barwin to do something, and fast, to deal with the very visible homeless population.</p><p>So he did.</p><p>And it ended up costing Sarasota more than $15,000 in legal fees and the loss of a $100,000 donation — which, instead, will likely go to private social service providers. </p><p>When Barwin created the Homeless Advisory Task Force, later renamed a “fact-finding” group, it was with good intentions. In January and February, the group that included public officials and service providers met and discussed what was missing from Sarasota's approach to homelessness.</p><p>But none of the meetings were publicly noticed, no minutes were kept and Barwin landed himself, and the city, in Government-in-the-Sunshine Law purgatory.</p><p>An injunction and lawsuit that the open government advocacy group Citizens for Sunshine filed in February was supposed to bar Sarasota from acting on the group's recommendation: that the city and county hire one full-time and two part-time caseworkers to help the chronically homeless.</p><p>Barwin nonetheless put a request on the City Commission agenda in March asking the city to accept an anonymous donor's $100,000 gift to help fund the caseworkers, and to chip in another $20,000 to help cover the positions and supplies.</p><p>The advocacy group asked a judge to hold him in contempt of court. </p><p>Barwin pulled the item from the agenda and the group decided their contempt of court motion was moot — but the misstep still cost the city nearly $7,000 in additional legal fees.</p><p>A bill that Citizens for Sunshine's attorney, Andrea Mogensen, sent to the city last week showed Sarasota owed her firm $15,274 for the debacle.</p><p>The legal battle wrapped up Tuesday, when Citizens for Sunshine voluntarily dismissed the case.</p><p>The next day, Barwin heard the city was not getting the $100,000.</p><p>“The risk associated with open government litigation spawned by the well-meaning efforts of city officials to expeditiously tackle the problem of homelessness, suggests that these initiatives can most effectively be led by a coalition of non-governmental social service providers,” the donor said in a statement released by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, which is handling the donation.</p><p>John Annis, who is working with the donor and is the foundation's vice president of community investment, said the individual is still committed to giving the money to address homelessness. </p><p>The donor encouraged the foundation to bring agencies that work with the homeless and affected members of the community together to determine how to proceed. The foundation will be able to do that, Annis said.</p><p>“Obviously disappointment is an understatement in terms of losing the funding, or the potential funding,” Barwin said. “And on the other hand, I understand the frustration and I probably am even more frustrated than the donor.”</p><p>Barwin still plans to ask city officials on April 15 to sign off on a scaled-back version of his initial caseworker plan, but suggested a part-time staffer will replace the full-time specialist he hoped to hire to help the city's chronically homeless.</p><p>“We will be sticking our toe in the water instead of our whole foot,” Barwin said.</p>